Man Busted Allegedly Trying To Steal Wheels Off Bike, Prowling

A San Jose man allegedly caught prowling and attempting to steal bike wheels fled from two residents in Palo Alto on Friday, ending up on a home’s roof, police said Monday.

Eric Thomas Schmidt, 30, was cited for misdemeanor prowling and petty theft, police said. Around 2 p.m. Friday, a resident in the 600 block of Stanford Avenue called police dispatch to report that she caught a man prowling in her carport who ran away by climbing a fence at the home, police said.

Arriving officers searched for the man and soon after police dispatch received a call from another resident in the 500 block of Oxford Avenue, which runs parallel to Stanford Avenue, where a man was inside an enclosed backyard, according to police. The officers saw a man who matched a description of the suspect on a roof at Stanford Avenue, police said.

The man, later identified Schmidt, was detained without incident, according to police.

An investigation showed Schmidt allegedly entered a home’s carport and planned to steal the wheels off of a bicycle, police said. While Schmidt was allegedly removing the wheels he was confronted by a resident and fled through the backyard, according to police. Schmidt ran through multiple yards and ended up on the roof.

He was cited by officers and released, police said.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent by email to paloalto@tipnow.org or by text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.

--Bay City News